The invention relates to a method and a device for the in situ disposal of incontinence articles, in particular made of a nonwoven fabric, of an absorbent cellulose layer, eventually with a gel embedded into the cellulose layer or with absorbent granulates, of an one-sided outer shell of synthetic material and of Velcro/adhesive strips, rubber straps or the like as closing and retaining means.
Through the DE-A-691 24 107, we know a method for the treatment of absorbent sanitary paper products for separating such products into their components or in components thereof which have a shape which is appropriate for the recycling or for the reutilization, whereby the products comprise at least synthetic, cellulose and superabsorbent polymer (xe2x80x9cSAPxe2x80x9d) solid fractions, the method comprising the following steps: treatment of the products in disintegrated form in an aqueous solution bath in order to solve soluble material and to treat the SAP so that its sources are inhibited, prevented or reversed and separation of the solution of soluble material from at least one of the solid fractions.
The device used for carrying out this method comprises a rotatable tiltable cylindrical drum with a first and with a second end which can contain and/or receive an aqueous solution and which is tiltable from a horizontal position into a tilted position, tilted position in which the second end is lower than the first end, whereby the first end is configured for loading the product into the inner part of the drum and for containing the product therein, whereby the second end possesses an outlet for delivering the product out of the drum, besides means for rotating the drum in at least one of horizontal and tilted positions, means for tilting the drum from the horizontal position into the tilted position, whereby for the treatment of absorbent sanitary paper products in order to separate such products into their components or into components thereof, the form of which is appropriate for the recycling or for the reutilization, by using means for the separation of solids from liquids in the drum, there is a stirrer in the inside of the drum in order to cause a communicating of the product in the drum. This device and the device configured for this should achieve that absorbent sanitary paper products with superabsorbent polymer can be treated in such a way that a few components or all components of such products can be recovered in a form which facilitates the recycling or another use of these components. A disposal is not provided for.
Moreover, a method and a device for the disposal of sanitary waste is known from the DE-A-198 53 520. In order to reduce the volume and the weight of sanitary waste and to stop the nuisance through bad smells, the sanitary waste is first mechanically disintegrated before it is brought into contact with a sanitary liquid which contains water with a sanitary additive usable in transportable toilets in such a quantity that the cellulose contained in the sanitary waste with gel grains is dissolved together with the body excrements contained therein. The used sanitary liquid is evacuated into the sewer, the remaining rest of the crumbled sanitary waste substantially made of synthetic material being recycled after dewatering.
It is known that absorbent sanitary paper products are made of a nonwoven made of a liquid permeable material, for example of a liquid permeable membrane made of an appropriate synthetic material or of woven products made of cotton, of a rear layer impermeable to liquid, degradable plastic foils on starch base, woven fabric or rubber and an absorbent or adsorbent core of airlaid cellulose fluffs and/or of synthetic cellulose containing bound or unbound polypropylene filaments, hemp or of other adsorbent fiber materials. The core is enclosed or wrapped in a crepe envelope made of wet-strength paper layers or of a material with similar properties. The wrapping of the core can be naturally breathing, biodegradable, odour inhibiting or degradable or soluble in another manner. The core can also be made of a material made of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) material according to DE-A-691 24 107. Sanitary napkins and incontinence products use pressure sensitive adhesives for reclosable adhesive tape brackets or similar closing mechanisms. These incontinence products can also be provided with pressure sensitive adhesives for adhesive lines in order to be able to fix a fixture, for example in form of a lining, on the underwear of the female or the male wearing person. The use of absorbent sanitary paper products is, in fact, practically or necessary as well; however, the disposal thereof causes many problems. According to the known methods and by means of the known devices, such absorbent sanitary paper products can be treated so quickly that a few components of such products or all components thereof can be recovered in a form which facilitates the recycling or another use of these components.
Aim, Solution, Advantage
Thus, the aim of this invention is to create a method and a device of the above mentioned type with which incontinence articles can be decomposed into the individual components by using a high cutting and dividing effect in order to recycle in situ the obtained disintegrated solid components of the material to dispose of and thus to economically dispose of the whole product or to supply them to a central industrial processing installation, whereby a reduction of the forces to be applied for the disintegration and for the separation of the material to dispose of should be obtained, and furthermore the solid components adhering on the drum inner wall or the disintegrated solid components of the material to dispose of should be removed without a high expenditure of energy.
This aim is achieved with a device with the characteristics indicated in claim 1 and with a method with the method steps indicated in claim 6.
Accordingly, the device according to the invention for the disposal of incontinence articles consists of a basic housing preferably provided with a desk-type housing section in which are placed
a device made of a drum-type housing with an upper filling opening and a cylindrical drum placed in the inner space of the housing, stationary or which can be set rotating alternately about a horizontal axis of rotation by means of a first driving device, with a filling opening for the material to dispose of and with two wall plates closing both drum openings on the front side, the first wall plate being connected with the drum housing and the second wall plate being configured displaceable by means of a second driving device in the drum rotation axis longitudinal direction or displaceable and rotatable about its center axis, whereby both front side drum wall plates carry on their opposing wall faces cutting, separating and disintegrating knives penetrating into the drum inner space, the housing containing the drum being provided with respectively one inlet or with a common inlet for the wash water, for a sanitary liquid for preventing odors and for chemicals, among others also for disinfectants in powder or liquid state, and the drum being connected in the area of its first stationary wall plate with one cylindrical hollow hub connected with the first driving device,
a pump connected with the drum inner space by a discharge muff placed on the bottom of the drum-type housing, pump by means of which the wash water is sucked off from the drum inner space, with the components of the material to dispose of which are dissolved in the wash water, and discharged,
a heating plate below the drum housing for drying the constituents of the material to dispose of which remained in the drum and which are not dissolved by the wash water,
a vacuum cleaner type device for sucking off the dried non water soluble constituents of the material to dispose of which remained in the drum inner space through the hub and for sucking off the air from the inner space of the drum through the hole-type openings in the rotating drum wall for loosening and removing the solid constituents of the material to dispose of which are adhering to the inner drum wall face,
a collecting receiver connected with the vacuum cleaner type device with a container, bag or sack receiving the sucked solid constituents of the material to dispose of, whereby the control of the supply for the washwater, for the sanitary liquid and for the chemical, the control of the first driving device for the drum rotation and the alternate back and forward motion of the drum and of the second driving device for the horizontal displacement of the displaceable wall plate of the drum and the control of the sucking device for the solid constituents of the material to dispose of from the drum inner space and for the control of the pump are combined in a program switching device or are controllable by means of a free programmable control.
The method according to the invention comprises the following method steps:
a.) filling of the drum of the disposal device with the material to dispose of,
b.) filling of the drum with wash water heated to approximately 95xc2x0 C., sanitary liquid for preventing odors and chemicals,
c.) alternate control of the rotation motion of the drum,
d.) variation of the size of the drum inner space and thus variation of the pressing power onto the material to dispose of in the drum inner space through horizontal to-and-fro displacement of the displaceable front wall plate of the drum by simultaneous disintegration of the material to dispose of,
e.) discharge of the wash water with the constituents dissolved therein of the material to dispose of,
f.) drying of the water insoluble constituents of the material to dispose of which remained in the drum inner space by simultaneous drum to-and-fro motion and, if necessary, disintegration into particles,
g.) sucking off or discharge of the dried water insoluble constituents of the material to dispose of from the drum inner space into a disposal container,
h.) sucking off of air from the drum inner space through the hole type openings in the drum wall and simultaneous entrainment (pull off effect) of the constituents of the material to dispose of which are adhering to the drum inner wall by simultaneously displacing the displaceable drum wall plate in direction of the stationary drum wall plate for reducing the drum inner space by simultaneously increasing the passage rate of the air through the hole type openings,
i.) transmission of the air sucked off in step h.) with the solid disintegrated constituents of the material to dispose of and separation of the air and of the solid constituents with subsequent collecting of the solid constituents for disposal or to residual valuable substances or supplying as residual valuable substances to the corresponding circuit.
With the device according to the invention and by using this device appropriately, it is possible to economically dispose in situ of incontinence articles with the possibility to let off, as far as allowed, the single obtained components or, eventually, to pelletize them. Due to the fact that during the disintegrating process of the material to dispose of in the inner space of the drum of the disposal device the material to dispose of is enlarged in its size in a predetermined cycle and disintegrated, a pressing pressure onto the material to dispose of is generated in the inner space of the drum, this pressure assisting the disintegration of the material to dispose of by means of the knives working against each other on the front side wall plates of the drum without a high expenditure of force or energy being needed. After having removed the wash water with the constituents dissolved therein of the material to dispose of, the disintegrated solid component of the material to dispose of first remains in the inner space of the drum, this component being also sucked off by means of a vacuum cleaner type device from the inner space of the drum. Then there remain on the inner wall face of the drum solid particles of the disposal component adhering on the wall face which are removed by pulling-off the air from the inner space of the drum through the hole type openings in the drum wall. Due to the sucking off of the air out of the inner space of the drum, a so-called pull-off effect is generated for the plastics particles of the material to dispose of which are adhering on the drum wall face. Here also, the air passage rate through the hole type openings in the drum wall is controlled by the alternate variation of the size of the drum inner space so that, for a small inner space, a high air passage rate is achieved for a constant volume flow. The plastic particles of the material to dispose of are sucked off with the air by the vacuum cleaner type device and separated therein, whereby the thus obtained solid component of the material to dispose of is caught in a bag shaped device and supplied to the removal arrangement.
The particular advantage consists in the in situ disposal of the prepared incontinence articles, whereby a wardwise disposal is also possible, for example in old people""s homes, hospitals and children""s homes. A pelletizing of the residual valuable substances, such as plastics and cellulose, is also possible. Single quantities as well as bigger quantities of incontinence articles can be disposed of. Furthermore, all solids can be filtered out of the end product, for example by means of a filter, and are then pelletized. The whole process can be carried out at low temperatures and also by higher temperatures. It is advantageous to carry out the process for a short time at temperatures above 70xc2x0 C. in order to obtain the dissolution of the pellets. The feeding of the device can be carried out manually or also mechanically and automatically, for example by means of conveying belts. The particular advantage which is achieved by the device according to the invention consists in the fact that an in situ disposal is possible without storage and without intermediate transports.
Advantageous configurations of the invention are the object of the subclaims.
According to a further advantageous configuration of the invention, the drum housing of the drum placed stationary in the housing is provided with a front side wall plate fixedly connected with the drum and with a front side wall plate displaceable in the drum rotation axis longitudinal direction and driven rotating about the drum rotation axis longitudinal direction with a withdrawal opening for the material to dispose of which is closable by means of flaps. The housing receiving the drum shows a withdrawal opening covering the closable drum withdrawal opening or aligned with the closable drum withdrawal opening with a conveying/compression screw attached to it for carrying away separated plastics or plastics particles.
Furthermore, the invention provides a configuration according to which the drum housing of the drum placed stationary in the housing is provided with a front side wall plate fixedly connected with the drum and with a front side wall plate displaceable in the drum rotation axis longitudinal direction and driven rotating about the drum rotation axis longitudinal direction with a withdrawal opening for the material to dispose of, whereby the housing receiving the drum shows a withdrawal opening covering the drum withdrawal opening or aligned therewith, which is closable by means of flaps, with a conveying/compression screw attached to it for carrying away separated plastics or plastics particles.
When the drum is driven rotating in the housing, the rotation of the drum is terminated by means of a control, when the withdrawal opening of the drum housing of the drum and the withdrawal opening of the housing are aligned with each other.